What are the best car books that are available in December? The festive season has passed, but there's always time to make for a good automotive book. As per the ethos of the brand, we're big fans of reading here at CAR Magazine, and we've sunk our teeth into the latest crop of car books. As part of our car gift guide series, new book releases continue to be picked up from the post room. But we're not complaining as we learn something new every month from all corners of the automotive industry - and you can as well.
Magazines are fabulous, but nothing feels quite as relaxed as a good car book. They're an escape for petrolheads to indulge into new information we never previously knew. Whether it be a never previously told story in the world of motorsport to effectively an anthology on an iconic supercar, we'll read them all.
We all have our best car books from our childhood too. Anything from small Ladybird copies to encyclopaedias on car designs. These things taught us everything we needed to know about cars when growing up. And the fact is simple, we won't ever stop learning.
The best car books December 2024 at a glance
Because of this, new books simply don't stop being published. Whether they're classic car books or cover something brand new, people always have an urge for them. We've read and reviewed three new releases in the past month or so. Read on to see what's been taking up space on our bookshelves this December before we begin the new year.
The best car books December 2024
If you’re a particular fan of Alfas, this book will please you hugely. If you’re a fan of old racing cars, this book will also please you. If you’re a casual fan of cars, guess what? This book will also massively please you. In fact, it may even get you thinking about Alfa Romeos on a deeper level.
This new publication written by Peter Collins and published by Veloce is a treasure trove of wonderful period racing photography along with brief, but useful commentary of the wonderful machines that proudly wear Alfa badges. If you haven’t visited the marque’s museum near Milan, this book gives you a very neat idea of what you can expect inside – and that’s a sign that the author and publisher nailed the writing and vehicles included.
You get everything from the 1900 series saloons to the screaming 155 DTM cars and many more besides. If you know someone who is an Italian car bore, this could be the ideal gift if you happen to be looking for a very belated Christmas gift for a friend or relative.
Pros
- Amazing period and contemporary photography
- Chronologically and very well-written
- Keeps you engaged in one sitting
Cons
- It's hard to think of any for what you're getting
The Leicestershire-based sports car company is relatively well-known in car circles, but I’m willing to bet the history of the brand gets little recognition. That’s what Chris Catto fills in with his new book, published by Veloce. It’s a thick biography of the man behind the marque, Lee Noble.
It begins with an interesting prologue of Noble’s early designs consisting of the Ultima sports car and his modified version of a Lotus 23. It soon develops into the story of Noble Automotive’s more well-known machines consisting of the M12 onwards.
A true highlight for me was reading through and learning how the M14 eventually merged into the M15 and later ended up being the M600. One thing that stood out to me was that Lee Noble wasn’t too dissimilar to Ferruccio Lamborghini in the sense that he was always thinking about ways to take ideas and improve on the idea of a sports GT car.
It’s also well put-together with technical specification tables breaking down the details of the cars and the engines within them. These are nice additional sections to Chris Catto’s clear, yet instantly-engaging writing style.
Without giving too much away, this is a heavily interesting dive into Noble’s mind and greatly covers the history of the cars that were released bearing his name. If you like specialist and/or left-field cars, this publication deserves a space on your bookshelf.
Pros
- A lovely insight into the small-volume car maker
- Interesting stories, photography and quality
- Perfect gift for any car lover
Cons
- It's really aimed at the specialist car enthusiast
The best in-depth book
Via Crowood PublishingA very specific guide to Rover’s history is outlined in this new Crowood publication by James Taylor. 1945-1953 is the period when carmakers quickly turned back to car production after demand for aircraft components ended.
It covers an intriguing amount of history. It’s not just limited to important models like the P3 and P4 saloon, but also the Land Rover marque, the gas turbine prototypes, and plenty more besides.
The book is filled with high quality archive images of the factory and development processes and to break up the reading, you can indulge yourself in some specification and production number tables.
Reading about the gas turbine prototypes is perhaps the highlight for me.
You read through Taylor’s engaging writing and pour over the images and think that in many ways, Rover was thinking ahead of its time. It’s not just the famous JET 1 that’s discussed, but also some P4 saloons with extensive modifications to the rear to accommodate all the turbine engine bits.
If you’re interested in the history of British cars or know someone who is, this book simply cannot be recommended enough.
Pros
- Essential if you're deeply into British car history
- The ideal guide to anyone wanting to learn more about Rover
- Keeps you engaged with great photography and paragraph placements
Cons
- You have to be a pretty hardcore fan to get the best out of it
Available now
The latest issue of CAR is a rabbit hole of information to pour through with anything from big group tests to industry insights. This time, we're putting the controversial new BMW M5 against the soon-to-be-retired Audi RS6 and the Porsche Taycan - giving a flavour of pure petrol, hybird, and fully electric from the German performance car market.
The other big read is what's going on with Jaguar, now that the Type 00 concept has just been revealed along with its new branding. There's also a road test of Alpine's new hot hatch, the Renault 5-based A290 - and European Editor, George Kacher puts the new Mercedes S63 AMG up against its grandfather, the W126 560SEL.
What's more, there's a limited-time offer on hand where you can pay just £19.99 for six issues before paying £30 for six months, saving you 73% on the usual subscription.
Pros
- Superb road tests and writing, as always since 1962
- The Agenda section is arguably the best part
- The M5 v RS6 v Taycan group test is especially worth reading
Cons
- It's always a shame to finish reading them
Most stylish coffee maker
Via BialettiWe're taking inspiration from the Ferrari F40 with this beautiful art-deco coffee maker. Like the Ferrari, it's made from aluminium and made in Italy, but it makes coffee as opposed to 478bhp. First introduced in 1933, this coffee maker is simple to use and makes delicious coffee.
Pros
- Charming design that'll look great alongside designer cutlery
- A neat history attached to it
- Perfect for traditional coffee lovers
Cons
- They are quite small
- Not as high tech as some would want
What is the CAR book club?
Contrary to the term, it's not a weekly gathering in a corner of a library. It's not even a space where we can show off BMW gift ideas to each other. Instead, it's a way to share brand new releases in the world of car books and deciding whether they're worth purchasing. We read through each one that's available to us and give you the definitive verdict.
It differs slightly from our usual gift guides such as our Mercedes one, because all the books we have are read through first hand.
How can I decide what the best ones are?
Whether other people say they include a lot of detail, where that information has been gathered from, and the general purpose of it. An recollection of a bygone F1 team will serve a different purpose than the history of a particular car model in the world of automotive books. But whether reviewers say it's a must-have will tell you everything.
Will there be a list of the best car books in January 2025?
Absolutely. This is a monthly occurrence, so stay tuned for the next one.
Aaron Hussain is a commercial content writer at Bauer Media writing for Parkers and CAR. He is obsessed with classic cars and anything with a fascinating story to tell.